Welcome to Psychedelic Alpha.

Independent data-driven reporting, analysis and commentary on the psychedelics space: from business and drug development through to policy reform and culture.

Plus incubation, consultancy, and advisory for this emerging field. ∎

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Our latest insights

Pα+ Psychedelic Bulletin #207: Lykos Rebrands to Resilient; Pharma Pushes Back on Norway’s Ketamine Reimbursement Decision; AbbVie-Gilgamesh Deal Viewed as Validation

August 28, 2025

Lykos Therapeutics Rebrands to Resilient Pharmaceuticals • Pharma Pushes Back on Norway’s Off-Label Ketamine Decision • AbbVie–Gilgamesh Deal Viewed as Validation for Short-Acting Psychedelics • Psilocybin Rescheduling Petition Heads to HHS • Sensorium Scores $25M Series A Extension to Take Kanna-Based Candidate Into Clinic • Researchers Call Lykos’ MDMA Pricing Modelling “Problematic” • Alabama Board of Medicine Issues Guidelines for Off-Label Ketamine in TRD • FDA Approves PharmaTher’s Ketamine After Two CRLs • Incannex Reports Positive Phase 2 Results for Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy in GAD • and more..

AbbVie to Acquire Gilgamesh’s Bretisilocin for Up to $1.2B

August 25, 2025

AbbVie is set to buy Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals’ lead candidate, GM-2505 (bretisilocin), in a deal worth up to $1.2bn. Here, we take a closer look at the acquisition, what it might tell us about big pharma’s interest in the field, and what it might mean for the broader crop of psychedelic drug developers…

Norway Approves Public Funding for Generic Ketamine in Treatment-Resistant Depression

August 25, 2025

This morning, in a world-first move, Norwegian regulators approved national reimbursement for the off-label use of generic ketamine in treatment-resistant depression. Here, we break the news, dive deeper, and speak with insiders.

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Whether you’re at the idea-formation stage or raising early-stage funding, we’re here to help across the entire psychedelic value chain and company life-cycle.

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We help investors and corporates of all stripes understand and support the psychedelics space: from syndicates and VCs through to institutions.

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Join our newsletter to stay abreast of the rapidly emergent psychedelics industry: from clinical trials and patents through to healing centres and decriminalisation.

The Psychedelic Renaissance

After a half-century of prohibition, psychedelics are once again entering the mainstream.

Today’s so-called “psychedelic renaissance” is represented by a seemingly exponential increase in research and development activity, billions of dollars of funding, psychedelic policy reform initiatives and successes across the world, and changing public perceptions. ∎

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials involving psychedelics started, per year

Phase 3 studies of several psychedelics are underway.

$5+ billion

Invested in public and private psychedelic companies since 2020.

Psychedelic policy reforms are gaining pace at the federal, state and local level in the U.S. and internationally.

80.9%

of psychiatrists agreed that psychedelics show promise in treating psychiatric disorders.

Barnett et al., 2023

On “Alpha”

‘Alpha’, in the investing world, refers to an excess return on investment relative to a benchmark. But we broaden the definition of alpha on both ends to include more than just economic returns on more than just economic investments.

Instead, we conceptualise alpha as the excess return on myriad investments that people may make in the present and future of psychedelics: beyond economic capital, people might invest time, energy, and effort, for example. And that excess return might not be (purely) financial, it might also be realised through a more impactful treatment paradigm for mental health, for example, where the ‘benchmark’ is the inadequate status quo.

All this to say, we’re not only for investors. In fact, most of our readers aren’t: many of them are practitioners, regulators, entrepreneurs, and so on. ∎